Hundreds March at State Capitol for 'Homeless Day on the Hill'

On any given night, there are about 14,000 people without a place to call home across Minnesota. One group is hoping to change that by securing tens of millions of dollars this legislative session.

About 600 people are expected to walk up the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol on Thursday as part of Homeless Day on the Hill, which is a push to get more people off the streets. According to Wilder Research, about half of the homeless people in Minnesota are children and youth under 21 years old.

Gov. Mark Dayton currently has $50 million in his bonding proposal specifically set aside for affordable housing. Dayton says it would be the largest bonding investment ever in affordable housing. The Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless and its supporters say that’s great – but not enough. They want to increase that amount to $100 million, calling their push Homes for All.

The state is making huge strides in getting veterans off the streets; Minnesota has one of the lowest rates across the nation when it comes to homeless veterans.